It Could Be ‘Months’ Before Cochinita Re-opens in Clinton Hill

July 27, 2011

Yesterday, we learned that Cochinita, a new taqueria on Fulton Street, suffered a severe fire. According to its owner, it will likely be months before it reopens.

“It doesn’t matter what age the business is,” says Adam Frank of the blow delivered to his six-month-old restaurant. “I wouldn’t wish this on anybody.” Although the fire — whose cause has not yet been determined — started in one of the two apartments located upstairs from the restaurant, getting Cochinita back on its feet “could take months.” Until that happens, Frank’s hoping to do pop-ups and catering jobs, and is looking for a commercial kitchen space.

Fortunately, he’s working with the New Business Acceleration Team, a division of the mayor’s office that was created a year ago to streamline the process of opening new food businesses. Frank worked with them to open Cochinita — “we started construction and I opened six weeks later,” he says. He’s also working with NYC Business Solutions, another city agency that handles things like hiring and insurance plans and has an emergency response unit.

“They were supposed to be here today,” says Frank, “but they had a damaged water main up in the Bronx.”

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